A new report from Europe finds anti-Christian hate crimes rose 44% on the continent last year.The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC) documented 748 anti-Christian hate crimes in 30 different countries. Is annual report released Nov. 16, documented arson attacks, graffiti, desecrations, thefts, physical attacks, insults, and threats.The OIDAC report identified two prominent trends. One was the increase in arsons from 60 in 2021 to 105 in 2022. The second trend was that more hate crimes were perpetrated by radicalised members of ideological, political or religious groups that follow an anti-Christian narrative.Over the past year, several Christians lost their jobs, faced suspension, or criminal court cases for expressing non-violent religious views in public.In Wales, teacher Ben Dybowski was fired from an Anglican high school for affirming a heterosexual definition of marriage. Joshua Sutcliffe was permanently banned from teaching for misgendering a student. School chaplain Rev. Bernard Randall was dismissed from his job and reported to the government as a terrorist extremist after a short sermon on identity politics in chapel.OIDAC Europe’s executive director, Anja Hoffmann pointed to a rise in extremist motivations and a higher acceptance fortargeting churches. "The criminalisation of expressions of mainstream religious teachings – which do not incite violence or hatred – as ‘hate speech’ is dangerous on various levels: It stigmatizes legitimate conscience-related convictions and at the same time weakens the severity of actual incitement to hatred,” said Hoffmann. “Furthermore, silencing Christian voices in public undermines the plurality of democratic western societies and essentially renders a free discourse impossible.”Legal limitations on freedom of religion and assembly have increased through “buffer zone” bills, especially in the UK, which criminalize prayer and religious manifestations around abortion clinics. In Birmingham, England, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was interrogated by police when standing silently in one of the “buffer zones”, and asked whether she was “praying in her mind”. Charges against her were dropped Sep. 25.OIDAC Europe also found violations of parental rights to educate children in accordance with one’s own conscience and religion through the elimination of conscience clauses in medical laws. This put medical personnel who refuse to participate in certain practices for reasons of conscience in vulnerable positions.In September, the German government announced a curriculum reform that would make abortion an obligatory part of medical studies. Several senior politicians and different Christian communities in Germany have voiced deep concern about this proposal, which would entirely ban Christians opposing abortion for conscience reasons from all medical professions.Conversion therapy bans were introduced in Spain, Belgium, and Iceland. In Scotland, an “Expert Advisory Group on Ending Conversion Practices”, released in October 2022, specifically targets religious leaders, proposing that any practice deemed as “conversion” — potentially including private prayer between consulting adults — should lead to the “withdrawal of the [. . .] professional license as a faith leader or removal of the ability to work within Scotland.”In January, the Netherlands rejected a proposed bill to ban conversion therapy, finding it a violation of religious freedom. The council also said the bill as written could not distinguish between coercion and voluntary choice of such therapies, and coercion was already prohibited by existing laws.The document also included an interview with Matthew Grech, a 33-year-old who shared the story of his Christian conversion on TV PMnewsMalta, an emerging local free speech and liberal platform.“They invited me to be their guest, knowing that I was the leading ex-gay voice on the island. I genuinely thought that they simply wanted to hear my story. During the programme, however, they also asked me questions about the law that bans non-LGBT-affirming therapy in Malta. We had a great discussion. It was calm, spiritual, practical and scientific.”Although he did not encourage listeners to undergo “conversion therapy,” the 33-year-old has had four court appearances for breaching the Affirmation of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression Act. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan 31., 2024.The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Hate Crime Report released similar findings. The OSCE found 792 anti-Christian hate crimes in 34 European countries, making Christians the most targeted religious group after Jewish believers.The OSCE Representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and Members of Other Religions, Professor Regina Polak expressed concern about the rising number of cases.“The increasing number of anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe reported by OIDAC is deeply worrying. It is highly necessary to raise both governmental and societal awareness for this problem and undertake political measures to tackle and combat it decidedly.”
